Episode 50: Do You Actually Need a Multivitamin?

I was looking through my own medicine cabinet recently and realized something: despite being an Athletic Trainer and obsessed with performance, I don’t take a multivitamin.

With over 31% of adults popping a daily multi for "general wellness," am I missing out? Or are we all just paying for expensive urine?

In this solo Saturday episode, I dive into the hard data to answer one question: Does a multivitamin actually prevent disease? We review the massive 2022 JAMA study on heart disease and cancer, a 14-year study on brain health, and why the "shotgun approach" to nutrition might be doing you more harm than good.

Whether you are an elite athlete or just trying to stay healthy, this episode will help you decide if you should refill that prescription or save your money.

In This Episode, We Cover:

• The Big 31%: Why 1 out of 3 adults takes a multi, and why "longevity" doctors usually skip them.
• Heart & Cancer Truths: Breaking down the USPSTF findings on multivitamins and major diseases (plus a specific warning for smokers).
• Brain Power: Does a daily pill stop cognitive decline? We look at the results from a 14-year physician study.
• The Athlete’s Dilemma: Why elite soccer players focus on Creatine and Tart Cherry Juice instead of multivitamins.
• Supplement Safety: The "Wild West" of regulation—why you need to look for NSF or Informed Sport labels.
• Stop Guessing, Start Testing: Why I recommend annual blood work (via your PCP, Function Health, or InsideTracker) over generic supplementation.

Resources for episode:

1. Ward E. Addressing nutritional gaps with multivitamin and mineral supplements. Nutr J. 2014;13(1):72. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-13-72

2. Abreu R, Oliveira CB, Costa JA, Brito J, Teixeira VH. Effects of dietary supplements on athletic performance in elite soccer players: a systematic review. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2023;20(1):2236060. doi:10.1080/15502783.2023.2236060

3. Ghazzawi HA, Hussain MA, Raziq KM, et al. Exploring the Relationship between Micronutrients and Athletic Performance: A Comprehensive Scientific Systematic Review of the Literature in Sports Medicine. Sports. 2023;11(6):109. doi:10.3390/sports11060109

4. US Preventive Services Task Force. Vitamin, Mineral, and Multivitamin S

Transcript

Speaker: 0:06

Welcome to the podcast. A podcast by healthcare on how to navigate your health The podcast is hosted by Mike athletic trainer, and me, trainer and certified strength Although we're healthcare providers, we are not your healthcare provider. We will discuss general health interventions in this podcast, but you should not take that as health advice that works in every situation. Before doing anything on your changes, please consult with Also, this podcast and the views our full time jobs and represent If you're enjoying the podcast, listening platform and subscribe Link to our show can be found in platform you're listening to. This episode and future episodes They will be solo episodes I'll be using this time to review specific health and wellness topic in depth, or to give some insight on something in the news that is getting coverage. Trying to review the research and science behind whatever that is. These episodes are designed to be about ten to fifteen minutes in length. To help you learn something why specific treatment is used. And honestly, it gives me an bit as well. The inspiration for today's own medicine cabinet. I was reviewing the supplements that I take and I thought to myself, why don't I take a multivitamin? I'm personally a big fan of the longevity doctors out there, and I noticed that multivitamins rarely get a shout out from them. Typically, when talking about longevity and brain health, I come across vitamin D, vitamin K, omega three, magnesium, and so on. Typically, they're kind of more single vitamins or minerals that are involved. It's reported that at least thirty one percent of adults use multivitamins daily. Typically they are used for quote unquote general wellness and to fill the gaps in the diet. It got me thinking does a Should everyone be on one or So let's dive into what's actually out there regarding multivitamins. First, a quick breakdown of some nutrition terms that I will use today. I will mainly be talking about This includes vitamins and minerals that do not produce calories. This is different from macronutrients, which refer to things that produce energy such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Another thing I want to look Before we start, I want to make a note on supplementation in general and how they are classified. In the US, supplements are not get to market. They are not required to have the stringent safety and efficacy testing that pharmaceuticals do. So truly, anyone can throw shelf, and slap claims on the Supplements can have more or. Less, or even none of the have, depending on the Two to twenty five percent of supplements can have contaminants ranging from arsenic and heavy metals to THC or methamphetamines. Because of this, prior to taking a supplement, I recommend looking for a few specific labels. One look for some third party Typically, it's going to be for an NSF or Informed-sport logo and the other labels GMP, which stands for Good Manufacturing Practices. These labels guarantee that the are supposed to contain and are As always, I did a brief review of systematic reviews on multivitamins for generally healthy people to kind of get some information for this podcast. The first article I came across was published in Jama in twenty twenty two. It looked at multivitamin supplementation in preventing cardiovascular disease and cancer. This study analyzed the Nhanes Nutrition Examination Survey, database where many of these This specific study was done by the US Preventive Services Task Force. And reviewing the data, they came to the conclusion that when it comes to cardiovascular disease and cancer prevention, multivitamins have no benefits, but they also don't really cause any harm. There is a caveat. It is recommended that smokers those with vitamin E or beta That's just due to their already being smokers. But overall, for the general population, multivitamins have no effect. So for the big diseases, that doesn't really do much of anything. But what about for brain health? There's actually a really good looking at cognitive function in versus those who did not. This tracked people from eleven, so a very long time. They had a very good pre-test They had a control group, a placebo group, a multivitamin group. There was a couple thousand people in every group, and both researchers and participants were blinded. This is your classic, uh, double blinded, randomized, clinical controlled trial. The result? There were no differences between any of the groups in cognitive function. Interestingly enough, the the dose was not high enough or unquote, well nourished. To me, that just sounds like didn't want to believe that for generally healthy people. So what about athletes? What about people that truly have maybe a little bit higher energy need? So right. It is well known that athletes are generally at higher risk of micronutrient deficiencies due to their increased need for general energy. The theory is that bridge those nutrition gaps. However, the research doesn't utilizing generic multivitamins. Instead, it reviews specific that athletes might have. A systematic review showed the micronutrients, but when we look rarely come up. A recent systematic review on soccer players didn't mention They focused on more specific interventions shown to actually increase performance, such as caffeine. Creatine. Protein. Electrolytes. Tart cherry juice, beetroot concentrate, and sodium bicarbonate. When it comes to research around supplements come up again and And by the way, that is a list of settlements I plan on reviewing another day, especially creatine. So for athletes, while a recommended to cover bases, the The science focused on that move the needle much more. That said, there are clear such as during pregnancy, deficits during pregnancy. Early on. Folic acid is important to prevent neural tube defects, and pre and postnatal vitamins are generally recommended. Vitamin D supplementation is as well since you know they So what are my thoughts? Supplementation can be used to help fill gaps in your nutrition, especially for those who are highly physically active. However, do you want to take a shotgun approach to supplementation? Or would you rather know exactly what you're deficient in with the shotgun approach approach, especially with micronutrients, there can be unintended consequences. Like a shotgun, you may hit your accidentally hit something else Increasing one vitamin or of another one that you did not My recommendation would be to that takes a look at your micronutrients, and see if you If you can't convince your you can look into multiple independent blood testing. These companies give you deep Services such as function Hims and hers now have options You are most likely not doing perfectly healthy with normal longevity experts recommend year, and I don't think that's Typically, insurance will cover Now, let's say once you get that You start there with some single See if those work or improve If you're still having issues, dietitian who probably has more supplementation is not working. Unfortunately, most physicians, especially, uh, you know, general family physicians generally are not well versed in nutrition. So an Rd should really be your The ultimate goal is that is you need from your normal diet. Once again, this means eating and whole grains. Avoid ultra processed foods when you're when you grocery shop, you should probably avoid the chip and snack aisles and stay in the produce meats in the refrigerated aisles. So in summary one multivitamins do not have any clear value in preventing disease. Two they can help bridge some gaps in diet, but is still recommend to prioritize real food to address your micronutrient needs. Three. When it comes to deficiencies in multivitamins are most likely take an exact approach. Get comprehensive blood work Go through your primary care doctor, or use a blood testing company like Function Health or Insidetracker to figure out any deficiencies and create a plan from that. If that does not work. Consult with your registered I hope you enjoyed this brief If you enjoyed this episode or any other episode of the podcast, please leave us a review on your favorite listening platform or on YouTube. If you have not already, please subscribe or follow us if you have any questions or want a certain topic. Research. Send an email to well-informed twenty four at gmail.com or send a DM to our Instagram handle at giphy.com. Podcast. You can find links to our subscribe to the well-informed Have a great day!